Interactive video and audio presentation systems are currently being introduced into the entertainment and educational industries. A prominent interactive technology that has been applied successfully in these industries is based on providing interactivity in a one-way system through the provision of multiple parallel channels of information. For example, commonly owned Freeman et al. patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,264,925 and 4,264,924, which provide both audio and video interactivity, disclose interactive television systems where switching among multiple broadcast or cable channels based on viewer selections provides an interactive capability.
These systems have been enhanced to include memory functions using computer logic and memory, where selection of system responses played to the viewer are based on the processing and storage of subscriber responses, as disclosed in Freeman patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,680.
The benefits of providing interactivity through the use of different audio responses is disclosed in Freeman, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,847,698, 4,847,699 and 4,847,700. These television systems provide a common video signal accompanied by several synchronized audio channels to provide content related user selectable responses. The audio signals produce different audio responses, and in some cases, these are syllable synched to a first audio script and to the video signal (such as to a person or character on a display), providing the perception that the person's or character's mouth movements match the spoken words.
Interactivity is brought to the classroom in the Freeman U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/228,355. The distance learning system claimed in this application enhances the classroom educational experience through an innovative use of interactive technology over transmission independent media. When an instructor, either broadcast live on video or displayed from videotape, asks a question, each and every student responds, preferably by entering a response on a remote handset, and each student immediately receives a distinct and substantive audio response to his or her unique selection. The individualization of audio response from the interactive program is a major aspect of the invention.
Individualization of audio is brought to the home based on the technology disclosed in Freeman U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/228,355. This system provides a program that can be watched on any conventional television set or multimedia computer as a normal program. But if the viewer has a special interactive program box connected to the television, he or she can experience a fully functional interactive program. Each interactive viewer enjoys personalized audio responses and video graphics overlayed on the screen. The interactive program can be provided to television sets or to computers by cable, direct broadcast satellite, television broadcast or other transmission means, and can be analog or digital. Unlike previous interactive systems, this application covers a system that subtly introduces the interactive responses to the viewer throughout the program. This enhanced interactivity is provided through the use of "trigger points" spread throughout the program. Trigger points occur at designated times and result in the program content being altered to present individual attention to the particular viewer.
However, what is needed is an interactive personalization provided via an interactive multimedia computer. Furthermore, a system is needed that provides not only the ability to branch amongst parallel transmitted datastreams, but also, the capability to seamlessly integrate input from other media, such as CD-ROMs and laser disks, into the presentation. What is needed is a computer-based system for branching between a variety of inputs during the same interactive session including full-motion video, computer graphics, digital video overlays and audio.